Restoring liberty since 2009

Monthly Archives: March 2015

I object to Indiana’s RFRA! Yep, that’s right, but hold on, because whether you are for it, or against it, it’s highly likely that I’m strongly objecting to what you don’t object to. You see, I don’t object to Indiana wanting to protect the religious …

I object to Indiana’s RFRA! Yep, that’s right, but hold on, because whether you are for it, or against it, it’s highly likely that I’m strongly objecting to what you don’t object to. You see, I don’t object to Indiana wanting to protect the religious …

Approximately four weeks after State Auditor and 2016 gubernatorial candidate, Tom Schweich, was laid to rest after an apparent suicide, his close aid, Spence Jackson, was found dead in his Jefferson City apartment.Jackson had been Schweich&rsquo…

Approximately four weeks after State Auditor and 2016 gubernatorial candidate, Tom Schweich, was laid to rest after an apparent suicide, his close aid, Spence Jackson, was found dead in his Jefferson City apartment.Jackson had been Schweich&rsquo…

Washington – The Shaheen-Portman energy efficiency legislation may be voted on at the end of the Senate vote-a-rama. This is an inappropriate program of federal mandates and subsidies that is duplicative of existing federal and state efforts. The free market is the best mechanism for decreasing costs and increasing efficiency in energy production. The Shaheen-Portman legislation would […]

I’m getting ready to drive to Missouri’s capital, Jefferson City, tomorrow morning, to meet up with a number of others – on all sides of the political fence – in the HB1490 Workgroup to help in rewriting our educational curriculum standards for Missouri’s public school system.

30 years ago I was watching The Breakfast Club. Now I’m putting ridiculous amounts of time and money into trying to fix a system which makes Mr. Vernon’s ‘Schermer High School’ seem a shining gymnasium on a hill.

I shouldn’t disclose details of private email conversations, but a friend who’s very much involved in the process made an apropos, and very depressing, analogy between our public system of education and the Titanic, basically that it can’t be fixed, it will sink, and in the meantime we do our best to help reduce injuries to as many of the passengers we can, while also doing our best to encourage as many as we can to get to the lifeboats as soon as they can.

For those of you out there with a more optimistic view of things, I’ll remind you that we’re trying to save a system that was largely designed by a fellow who, in 1909, after setting the template for our modern school systems with their superintendent structures, textbooks, centralized testing, etc, chortled that

“Each year the child is coming to belong more to the State and less and less to the parent.”

So why am I heading out to Jefferson City early tomorrow morning for our HB1490 workgroup meeting? Partly because I couldn’t forgive myself if I didn’t do what I could to help make the system less bad, but… fix it? Well… here’s a question I’ve yet to hear come up in any of the debates about ‘education reform’:

“What do you mean by Education?”

Shouldn’t that be the very first question asked, before setting out to reform or fix it?

Yes, it should.

The Brat Pack we ain’t, but we’re working on it.

Any questions?

One more – a question for myself and everyone else who feels beaten down by the educational system and by the political system: What can’t we do about it?

What we can’t do, is do nothing. Our system of public education is not separable from our system of government. The education system we are all fighting right now is the very same system that is tearing our system of government apart before our eyes and it would like nothing better than to do so ever faster, without our interference. The state of our nation, our government, our culture and the widespread lack of understanding of all of it, is a result of our current state of education, and as my link points out, this problem began a heck of a lot earlier than the 1960’s.

And it’s not going to come back, or even improve, if we leave them to their own devices.

So long as we as a people retain some shred of ability to reason, then we have to do our best to change the system through the laws, and as the cooler heads among us have pointed out, that requires engaging with our legislators and with those who’d like nothing better than to ‘teach us a thing or two’ to the contrary.

And you know what? One of the nicer surprises I’ve had in this process, is that it is not only possible to work together with those who see things very differently from how I do, it can be interesting and rewarding to do so.

And hey, if you’re stuck on the Titanic, might as well rearrange the deck chairs.

I’m getting ready to drive to Missouri’s capital, Jefferson City, tomorrow morning, to meet up with a number of others – on all sides of the political fence – in the HB1490 Workgroup to help in rewriting our educational curriculum standards for Missouri’s public school system.

30 years ago I was watching The Breakfast Club. Now I’m putting ridiculous amounts of time and money into trying to fix a system which makes Mr. Vernon’s ‘Schermer High School’ seem a shining gymnasium on a hill.

I shouldn’t disclose details of private email conversations, but a friend who’s very much involved in the process made an apropos, and very depressing, analogy between our public system of education and the Titanic, basically that it can’t be fixed, it will sink, and in the meantime we do our best to help reduce injuries to as many of the passengers we can, while also doing our best to encourage as many as we can to get to the lifeboats as soon as they can.

For those of you out there with a more optimistic view of things, I’ll remind you that we’re trying to save a system that was largely designed by a fellow who, in 1909, after setting the template for our modern school systems with their superintendent structures, textbooks, centralized testing, etc, chortled that

“Each year the child is coming to belong more to the State and less and less to the parent.”

So why am I heading out to Jefferson City early tomorrow morning for our HB1490 workgroup meeting? Partly because I couldn’t forgive myself if I didn’t do what I could to help make the system less bad, but… fix it? Well… here’s a question I’ve yet to hear come up in any of the debates about ‘education reform’:

“What do you mean by Education?”

Shouldn’t that be the very first question asked, before setting out to reform or fix it?

Yes, it should.

The Brat Pack we ain’t, but we’re working on it.

Any questions?

One more – a question for myself and everyone else who feels beaten down by the educational system and by the political system: What can’t we do about it?

What we can’t do, is do nothing. Our system of public education is not separable from our system of government. The education system we are all fighting right now is the very same system that is tearing our system of government apart before our eyes and it would like nothing better than to do so ever faster, without our interference. The state of our nation, our government, our culture and the widespread lack of understanding of all of it, is a result of our current state of education, and as my link points out, this problem began a heck of a lot earlier than the 1960’s.

And it’s not going to come back, or even improve, if we leave them to their own devices.

So long as we as a people retain some shred of ability to reason, then we have to do our best to change the system through the laws, and as the cooler heads among us have pointed out, that requires engaging with our legislators and with those who’d like nothing better than to ‘teach us a thing or two’ to the contrary.

And you know what? One of the nicer surprises I’ve had in this process, is that it is not only possible to work together with those who see things very differently from how I do, it can be interesting and rewarding to do so.

And hey, if you’re stuck on the Titanic, might as well rearrange the deck chairs.

An investigation, by Clayton, Missouri Police, has definitively ruled the death of Missouri State Auditor, Tom Schweich a suicide, but controversy still surrounds the tragic event. The narrative that Scwheich was distraught over a whisper campaign…

An investigation, by Clayton, Missouri Police, has definitively ruled the death of Missouri State Auditor, Tom Schweich a suicide, but controversy still surrounds the tragic event. The narrative that Scwheich was distraught over a whisper campaign…

Was Senator Cotton’s letter to the ‘leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran‘ illegal or in any way treasonous? No. Was it addressed to who it should have been addressed to? IMHO, no way, not even close. But before getting into what the letter got wrong, lets look at how the letter and those who signed it are being wronged.

The ridiculous claims that the senator’s letter was in any way treasonous or illegal, are not only easily dismissed, they betray a dangerous preference for partisan propaganda over easily verifiable facts, the details of which have been easily and briefly explained in Commentary Magazine.

But on top of the pure idiocy of the accusations, the frothing leftist intelligentsia is either deliberately ignoring, or betraying an appalling ignorance of, a large number of basic facts of record about Democrat congressional behavior over the last 40 years or so – including that of the current President (who reportedly contacted Iranian leadership prior to being sworn in as President).

Several online sources, such as Hot Air, have already done a good job of pointing out the numerous prominent Democrat politicians who have, going back to the 1980’s, deliberately sought to undermine or thwart Republican administration’s foreign policy, both secretly, and through personal visitations, as this excerpt makes clear:

Joe Scarborough pointed out one example this morning on Twitter from the Reagan era. The Reagan administration wanted to block Soviet influence in the Western hemisphere by backing rebellions against Communist dictators, especially in Nicaragua. Reagan supported the contras against Daniel Ortega, a policy which Democrats opposed and for which they later passed the controversial Boland Amendment in an attempt to restrict Reagan’s options in foreign policy (and which led to the Iran-Contra scandal.) Before Boland, though, 10 Democrats in the House — including Edward Boland (D-MA) — wrote a letter to Ortega called the “Dear Commandante” letter pledging their support to his government. See if this sounds familiar [follow the link, it will sound very familiar]

IOW, if the cries of ‘Treason!’ were to be taken as credible, it would require also charging our sitting Secretary of State John Kerry, several sitting senators on the Democrat side of the aisle, the House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and more than a few of those she ‘leads. There are some pedantic quibbles on the language of Sen. Cotton’s letter that can be found here, but brushing all the silliness aside, was Sen. Cotton’s letter a smart thing to write, and was it addressed to who it needed to be addressed to?

Both answers follow from who it was addressed to: the ‘leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran‘.

And who are they?

The Iranian regime is a theocratic dictatorship consisting of brutal, primitive and barbaric thugs. A regime which routinely, even daily, condemns America, and its ally Israel, as the Big and Little Satan, a regime which publicly leads prayers for our destruction. Their rule has been repeatedly defined by how brutally it crushes all dissent against it. They publicly state their intentions to wipe out Israel and to dominate the entire Mid-East in the name of (as their own interpretation of) Allah.

So with that in mind, I’ve got a couple questions:

How can you possibly address a letter to them (let alone conduct negotiations with them), with the expectation of it receiving an intelligent response, or serving a rational purpose?

How could you not expect the ayatollah to do with that letter exactly what he did, using it as a means of peddling propaganda about America being confused and crumbling?

And finally, if you don’t want a deal to be made with Iran, what benefit would it serve to strengthen their hand, and the administration’s, against congress in the eyes of a world media (not to mention the U.N.) which very much favors the idea of an agreement between Iran and the Obama administration?

Lest my lack of support be taken the wrong way, let me say that I am someone who believes that since the ending of the administration of the second worst president in U.S. History, Jimmy Carter, an invasion of Iran has been at the very least justified, though perhaps not always justifiable, (I don’t agree that doing so under this president would be at all wise). I think that any discussions with the Iranian regime that are done with the expectation of producing an agreement that will be adhered to by Iran in any way other than as a means to hobble the United States, is childishly naive and downright stupid. The only comments they should receive from officials of the United States of America, are of condemnation, isolation, and a very clear description of dire consequences to follow from any actions outside their borders – and a bill for any actions they prompt us to take against them.

And so I’ll ask again, was the senators’ letter addressed to the right people?

IMHO: No.

While I entirely understand the desire of Sen. Cotton and the other signatories to publicly rebuke the Obama administration for attempting to strike a deal with Iran – I have no complaints there at all – and I don’t think the letter itself was wrong to write (though a bit weak, and addressing it to Iran made the Senators look weak), but tell me, why the hell would you address such a letter to someone who is not only irrational but our avowed enemy?

Who should it have been addressed to?

How about to those who actually do need to hear and consider it: the President, our media, and We The People of the United States of America? Not to mention the rest of Congress? Were the senators somehow thinking that the Ayatollah would not get such a message of ‘how our constitution operates‘ through other channels than direct postage? We are the ones who are in need of letters such as theirs, there was no need to direct it to those who would have no interest or intention upon receiving it, from doing anything other than using it against us.

Sen. Cotton, if you want to be a true leader, and you certainly have the makings of one, focus your attentions upon helping those you would lead, to understand what it is that must be understood, if America is again to be the leader in the world that it could and should be.

So to wrap up:

1 point to Sen. Cotton for chutzpah.

2 demerits for Sen Cotton and the other signatories for a poorly thought out PR stunt, which wasn’t even directed towards those who might have benefited most from it – US.

Was Senator Cotton’s letter to the ‘leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran‘ illegal or in any way treasonous? No. Was it addressed to who it should have been addressed to? IMHO, no way, not even close. But before getting into what the letter got wrong, lets look at how the letter and those who signed it are being wronged.

The ridiculous claims that the senator’s letter was in any way treasonous or illegal, are not only easily dismissed, they betray a dangerous preference for partisan propaganda over easily verifiable facts, the details of which have been easily and briefly explained in Commentary Magazine.

But on top of the pure idiocy of the accusations, the frothing leftist intelligentsia is either deliberately ignoring, or betraying an appalling ignorance of, a large number of basic facts of record about Democrat congressional behavior over the last 40 years or so – including that of the current President (who reportedly contacted Iranian leadership prior to being sworn in as President).

Several online sources, such as Hot Air, have already done a good job of pointing out the numerous prominent Democrat politicians who have, going back to the 1980’s, deliberately sought to undermine or thwart Republican administration’s foreign policy, both secretly, and through personal visitations, as this excerpt makes clear:

Joe Scarborough pointed out one example this morning on Twitter from the Reagan era. The Reagan administration wanted to block Soviet influence in the Western hemisphere by backing rebellions against Communist dictators, especially in Nicaragua. Reagan supported the contras against Daniel Ortega, a policy which Democrats opposed and for which they later passed the controversial Boland Amendment in an attempt to restrict Reagan’s options in foreign policy (and which led to the Iran-Contra scandal.) Before Boland, though, 10 Democrats in the House — including Edward Boland (D-MA) — wrote a letter to Ortega called the “Dear Commandante” letter pledging their support to his government. See if this sounds familiar [follow the link, it will sound very familiar]

IOW, if the cries of ‘Treason!’ were to be taken as credible, it would require also charging our sitting Secretary of State John Kerry, several sitting senators on the Democrat side of the aisle, the House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and more than a few of those she ‘leads. There are some pedantic quibbles on the language of Sen. Cotton’s letter that can be found here, but brushing all the silliness aside, was Sen. Cotton’s letter a smart thing to write, and was it addressed to who it needed to be addressed to?

Both answers follow from who it was addressed to: the ‘leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran‘.

And who are they?

The Iranian regime is a theocratic dictatorship consisting of brutal, primitive and barbaric thugs. A regime which routinely, even daily, condemns America, and its ally Israel, as the Big and Little Satan, a regime which publicly leads prayers for our destruction. Their rule has been repeatedly defined by how brutally it crushes all dissent against it. They publicly state their intentions to wipe out Israel and to dominate the entire Mid-East in the name of (as their own interpretation of) Allah.

So with that in mind, I’ve got a couple questions:

How can you possibly address a letter to them (let alone conduct negotiations with them), with the expectation of it receiving an intelligent response, or serving a rational purpose?

How could you not expect the ayatollah to do with that letter exactly what he did, using it as a means of peddling propaganda about America being confused and crumbling?

And finally, if you don’t want a deal to be made with Iran, what benefit would it serve to strengthen their hand, and the administration’s, against congress in the eyes of a world media (not to mention the U.N.) which very much favors the idea of an agreement between Iran and the Obama administration?

Lest my lack of support be taken the wrong way, let me say that I am someone who believes that since the ending of the administration of the second worst president in U.S. History, Jimmy Carter, an invasion of Iran has been at the very least justified, though perhaps not always justifiable, (I don’t agree that doing so under this president would be at all wise). I think that any discussions with the Iranian regime that are done with the expectation of producing an agreement that will be adhered to by Iran in any way other than as a means to hobble the United States, is childishly naive and downright stupid. The only comments they should receive from officials of the United States of America, are of condemnation, isolation, and a very clear description of dire consequences to follow from any actions outside their borders – and a bill for any actions they prompt us to take against them.

And so I’ll ask again, was the senators’ letter addressed to the right people?

IMHO: No.

While I entirely understand the desire of Sen. Cotton and the other signatories to publicly rebuke the Obama administration for attempting to strike a deal with Iran – I have no complaints there at all – and I don’t think the letter itself was wrong to write (though a bit weak, and addressing it to Iran made the Senators look weak), but tell me, why the hell would you address such a letter to someone who is not only irrational but our avowed enemy?

Who should it have been addressed to?

How about to those who actually do need to hear and consider it: the President, our media, and We The People of the United States of America? Not to mention the rest of Congress? Were the senators somehow thinking that the Ayatollah would not get such a message of ‘how our constitution operates‘ through other channels than direct postage? We are the ones who are in need of letters such as theirs, there was no need to direct it to those who would have no interest or intention upon receiving it, from doing anything other than using it against us.

Sen. Cotton, if you want to be a true leader, and you certainly have the makings of one, focus your attentions upon helping those you would lead, to understand what it is that must be understood, if America is again to be the leader in the world that it could and should be.

So to wrap up:

1 point to Sen. Cotton for chutzpah.

2 demerits for Sen Cotton and the other signatories for a poorly thought out PR stunt, which wasn’t even directed towards those who might have benefited most from it – US.

If you ‘Stand with Ferguson Protesters’, please stand far, far away from me. And do me another favor while you’re at it, don’t call them ‘peaceful protesters‘ when I’m around; they are anything but peaceful and it is infuriating to hear them given such undeserved cover to hide behind. Which means of course, that there are plenty of media types doing just that, prattling on about the dastardly police donning riot gear just to ‘confront peaceful protesters’:

“The shooting took place shortly after midnight following what had been a mostly peaceful protest in front of the department Wednesday night demanding more action over the report.”

Here are just a couple of the many things I’d like to say to that:

When you have a ‘mostly peaceful‘ mob gathering in the street and making demands, if you don’t prepare for a riot you’re a f#$!$%& idiot – that or the Governor of Missouri, or, obviously, both.

There’s nothing, nothing, peaceful about an unruly mob gathering in the streets into the night, milling and marching about, loudly chanting insults and threats, obstructing or intimidating passersby, confronting the police and calling them out, to say nothing of throwing rocks and bottles of urine at them, or setting fire to the town.

Peaceful? Really? Here’s some of the latest peaceful offerings from the protestors gathered in Ferguson:

If you support such ‘peaceful protesters’ as these, then you are supporting the effort to bring about political goals by force and violence, and evil will follow from that – how could it not? To expect anything less, or to pretend surprise when evil makes its inevitable entrance as it did last night, is nothing less than a lie.

This entire episode has been a sustained assault upon the public peace and upon the law, and it is no surprise that it has received gushingly sympathetic support, and millions of dollars of Pro-Regressive Leftist George Soros cash infusions, and even aid from those elected to uphold the law and keep the peace.

This is a lesson that is lost on the Left in general, and the Obama administration in particular, don’t let yourself be drawn into thinking that appeasement is just for prime ministers and presidents – that’s the path of fools. It is folly and evil for them to practice, because appeasement is folly and evil for mankind in general – it encourages and leads to the same heart-breakingly avoidable results, an emboldened abuse if power, no matter what level it is practiced on.

Appeasement doesn’t disperse the mob, it doesn’t deliver “Peace in our time”, it doesn’t placate evil – it encourages and inflames it – and life is more than happy to teach us that lesson, again, and again, and again; and if that’s the type of lesson you want to waste your life on not learning? Please, do it way the hell away from me.

If you ‘Stand with Ferguson Protesters’, please stand far, far away from me. And do me another favor while you’re at it, don’t call them ‘peaceful protesters‘ when I’m around; they are anything but peaceful and it is infuriating to hear them given such undeserved cover to hide behind. Which means of course, that there are plenty of media types doing just that, prattling on about the dastardly police donning riot gear just to ‘confront peaceful protesters’:

“The shooting took place shortly after midnight following what had been a mostly peaceful protest in front of the department Wednesday night demanding more action over the report.”

Here are just a couple of the many things I’d like to say to that:

When you have a ‘mostly peaceful‘ mob gathering in the street and making demands, if you don’t prepare for a riot you’re a f#$!$%& idiot – that or the Governor of Missouri, or, obviously, both.

There’s nothing, nothing, peaceful about an unruly mob gathering in the streets into the night, milling and marching about, loudly chanting insults and threats, obstructing or intimidating passersby, confronting the police and calling them out, to say nothing of throwing rocks and bottles of urine at them, or setting fire to the town.

Peaceful? Really? Here’s some of the latest peaceful offerings from the protestors gathered in Ferguson:

If you support such ‘peaceful protesters’ as these, then you are supporting the effort to bring about political goals by force and violence, and evil will follow from that – how could it not? To expect anything less, or to pretend surprise when evil makes its inevitable entrance as it did last night, is nothing less than a lie.

This entire episode has been a sustained assault upon the public peace and upon the law, and it is no surprise that it has received gushingly sympathetic support, and millions of dollars of Pro-Regressive Leftist George Soros cash infusions, and even aid from those elected to uphold the law and keep the peace.

This is a lesson that is lost on the Left in general, and the Obama administration in particular, don’t let yourself be drawn into thinking that appeasement is just for prime ministers and presidents – that’s the path of fools. It is folly and evil for them to practice, because appeasement is folly and evil for mankind in general – it encourages and leads to the same heart-breakingly avoidable results, an emboldened abuse if power, no matter what level it is practiced on.

Appeasement doesn’t disperse the mob, it doesn’t deliver “Peace in our time”, it doesn’t placate evil – it encourages and inflames it – and life is more than happy to teach us that lesson, again, and again, and again; and if that’s the type of lesson you want to waste your life on not learning? Please, do it way the hell away from me.

I’ve just started reading through the ‘Net Neutrality Rules” this morning and you know what’s funny? All this BS and RIGHT IN THE FIRST SECTION I find this:

“Likewise, innovation at the edge moves forward unabated. For example, 2010 was the first year that the majority of Netflix customers received their video content via online streaming rather than via DVDs in red envelopes. Today, Netflix sends the most peak downstream traffic in North America of any company. Other innovative service providers have experienced extraordinary growth— Etsy reports that it has grown from $314 million in merchandise sales in 2010 to $1.35 billion in merchandise sales in 2013. And, just as importantly, new kinds of innovative businesses are busy being born. In the video space alone, in just the last sixth months, CBS and HBO have announced new plans for streaming their content free of cable subscriptions; DISH has launched a new package of channels that includes ESPN, and Sony is not far behind; and Discovery Communications founder John Hendricks has announced a new over-the-top service providing bandwidth-intensive programming. This year, Amazon took home two Golden Globes for its new series “Transparent.”

Hmmm, all that before Net Neutrality and government interference…….what are they protecting against again????? It’s so funny that in their own paper they tout how the Internet has grown and been wildly successful and in the same breath talk about how the government must step in. Yep, if you wanna ruin something, get the government involved.

I’ve just started reading through the ‘Net Neutrality Rules” this morning and you know what’s funny? All this BS and RIGHT IN THE FIRST SECTION I find this:”Likewise, innovation at the edge moves forward unabated. For example, 2010 was the first year t…